So i called the local performance shop today, which happens to be the only one in the area. They have no experience tuning a lnf motor but do alot of turbo trans ams, mustangs, and civics in the area. They told me 350for a dyno tune, so i have three questions.

1: should i let them tune my car even though they have never done a cobalt tc

2: if yes, then is this a fair price?

3: if no would it be better to go trifecta? or have someone from the forum tune with hpt, i have read alot of ppl are very happy going this route

 

have someone from the forum do it.. it'll most likely be cheaper, and better...


not that they're bad tuners, but since they've never done a Turbo balt, I dunno if you wanna be their test dummy

 

Thats kinda what i was thinking. So do i need to buy the hpt kit and then get in contact with someone? Or what would i need to do?

 

Between purchasing hpt, unlocking your vin in your hpt (unless you find a used version with your model year already unlocked) and having it tuned remotely from someone on here it will cost you far more than $350. You may want to consider trifecta if you can't find a good local tuner

 

You could buy hptuners and have someone remote tune you through email, this would be a good option if you have no tuners in your area. You can flash back to stock anytime you want. You don't have to work around anyones schedule. It's convenient and you can always sell hpt when you no longer need it.

 

That may be true but you can still sell hpt when your done also.

Hptuners used $300
Credits $100
Remote tune $150 to $250
= $550 to $650
Turn around and sell hpt - $300
= $250 to $350

 

Ok. Thanks alot for the info guys. The gms1 is no longer doing it for me anymore lol.

 

A remote tune for $150 would be a godsent deal considering the tuner has to spend $100 alone to unlock the vin as well. Either way, I'm not advicating trifecta as really the "best" tune option over some of the good tuners on here but it sure would beat the half-assed tune he would get from that local tuner. Plus he won't have to fork over a big chunk of cash

 

If you see I added the credits to unlock the vin already. There are a few good reputable tuners out there that will remote tune for $150. Op if you plan on keeping the car for a few years just buy hpt, it's worth it and you can make your money back on it if you ever sell it.

 

I'm moving back down to savannah next month and I have hptuners. I'm not tuner my anymeans but you can give me the money to unlock your car and you can pick someone to tune you by sending them your logs and some money. It would be cheaper then getting that place next to the mall to do it. Plus they tuned my cobalt years ago and said 350 but wouldn't let me get my car back after they had it for like today's and said I owed them 500.

 

Yea i plan on keeping it for a long time. And honestly id rather save up extra money and have the best, and most reliable tune if hpt with a good tuner is the way to go. Reliability would be my main concern, bc im pretty sure bolt ons with a conservative tune would be faster than my gms1.

 

There are a lot of guys on here that can give you a bad-ass and safe tune for your car that would more than likely stomp your local shops tune in comparison. Definitely go with someone who has done these cars because they're not exactly for beginner tuners...

 

If you want good reliability, hpt is the way to go. You can log every day, if you want. A good tuner will set you up with a good scanner config file that will have all the inputs are important to watch.

 

Im a beginner and i got my car running pretty decent. Well off of a base summer tune giving to me by my tuner lol. But its really not as hard as at seems. Air, fuel then spark I basically have to change my air and fuel alot (every couple of fill ups) being that e85 seems to be unpredictable at times.

 

Yeah winter to summer blends are a bitch especially with e85. It can range anywhere from 70%-84% ethanol depending on your location and time of the year. I constantly have to stay on top of mine.

 

i keep an e85 tester in the car, im on top of that, lol. Im talking about how much your LTFT can change between filling up one week compared to another even on the same percentage. for ex yesterday at WOT i was at -1.2 now today when i was messing around after i filled up i was at -10.3.

 

Well yeah I'm talkin about trim swings too obviously.... lol...

That is quite the swing though. You must have gotten some e85 with a higher gasoline content than what you had in the tank to get a -10 ltft. Where did you get your tester from btw? The only testers I can find only go up to 20% I think.

 

Got it from jegs, it's like 20 bucks it goes from 70% to like95%

 

Trifecta works great and is available anywhere. Not trying to start a war but I have beatin cars with some of the said wonder tuners on this forum and its been 100% reliable for 40000 miles.

 

Oh!! Here we go!!

 

Yea id def like to talk more with you about that. Def send me a pm when you get into sav